#BookReview: The Three Mrs Wrights by Linda Keir

Fun, Interesting Read – With A Seemingly Tacked On Ending. This was truly a fun book. Told mostly from three perspectives – a woman a man meets at a bar, another woman a man has plucked away from a medical fellowship at Duke to be in his cancer research startup, and a third woman who is married to a man who is always away on business – the book follows each relationship and becomes clear to the reader fairly early that these “three” men are in fact the same guy. From there, it begins to pick up a more serious version of The Other Woman – the 2014 comedy featuring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton. But the last chapter, ostensibly from the view of the woman from the bar, is seemingly tacked on and extremely rushed, and that ultimately hurts the aftertaste of the book. Truly solid work before that point, the book probably would have had a better aftertaste had it actively shown the event the last chapter speaks of instead of from a perspective of a few years after the event, maybe with the things of a few years later as an active epilogue (which this book doesn’t actually have). Still, truly a fun book before that point, and very much recommended.

This review of The Three Mrs Wrights by Linda Keir was originally written on September 20, 2020.

#BookReview: If You Must Know by Jamie Beck

Former RWA Board Member Expands Horizons. Jamie Beck is so well known as a romance author that she actually served as a member of the Romance Writers of America – the major romance writer organization in the US, at least – Board of Directors for a bit. She has since left those duties and has now expanded her writing to boot. Her romances have always been solid, if solidly within RWA rules. Here, she leaves romance for the realm of women’s fiction, focusing primarily on two sisters who could not be more opposite as they find themselves needing to learn to lean on the other. And she does her usual excellent work, despite the new genre. At times feeling like she might be trying to break into the mystery world, ultimately this has more of a feel of The Other Woman, the 2014 hit starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Mrs. Justin Verlander’s pre-baby boobs. (Ok, so that last is a bit of a joke – I *am* a guy, and I largely went into the movie for the one seen with Ms. Upton on the beach. It turned out to be an awesome movie, and this book is very reminiscent of its best parts.) I can’t really say that this is a “bold” departure for Ms. Beck, as long time fans will feel very comfortable here even in the new genre, but it is absolutely a refreshing departure and a strong showing that Beck is Beck, no matter the genre. Very much recommended.

This review of If You Must Know by Jamie Beck was originally written on May 2, 2020.